


Pressed in Close (Porque La Rumba)

by Mytay



Series: Adjust Orbit and Velocity [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dancer Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 13:03:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9898262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mytay/pseuds/Mytay
Summary: "I know we’re dancing-type boyfriends … Oh. Oh." Lance's expression went from smug to what could only be described as devilishly gleeful. “Holy crap, you were dying during the dance lessons, and I thought you were just embarrassed, but you were hot for me, oh my —”“I’m going to need you to shut up now.” Keith was flushing, but he seemed relatively unbothered by it. He started pulling on Lance’s hand, heading back inside. “Seriously, no —”“You were getting all caliente, oh, man, if I had known what was —”“There will be no dancing if you don’t shut your mouth right now —”“Okay, all right … But seriously, on a scale of one to habanero, how hot did you find me?”— Objects in Motion, Chapter 5On day 235 of being part of Voltron, Keith’s decision to keep quiet about his feelings for Lance is put to the test by the rumba. In the days following that, it feels like Lance is going out of his way to make Keith’s life a misery because Lance’ships don’t lie.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The fantastic **deadpetsparky** suggested we have the dance lesson from Keith’s POV, and so here it is — with bonus extra dance practises and yet more Keith angst … Yeah, so this got away from me a bit? Sorry?
> 
> I’ll be linking the music in the text as the story goes, if you want to listen as they dance. I’ll also put the songs in a list at the end if you _don’t_ want to listen, but are curious as to what these two dorks are workin’ it to.
> 
> Also, I am not a dancer in any capacity, so apologies if my descriptions offend those with actual abilities on that front!
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** Voltron isn't mine in any form — I just wanted to make them boogie on down, and is that so wrong?

_Castle of Lions_

_Date: 235 Days of Voltron_

_Dance Lesson, Training Deck_

_(The Torture of a Pining Red Paladin, Part One)_

“I can sort of dance,” Lance was saying, and he didn’t sound like he was bragging, just stating fact. “I wasn’t the best at it in the family, but I know a couple of steps.”

 

Keith shifted on his feet, uncomfortable in his most comfortable clothes. He did not have a natural sense of rhythm (unless you put a blade in his hands, a battle tempo all too familiar), and he was not looking forward to demonstrating that fact to everyone.

 

He could feel Pidge’s presence like a burning fire at his side because, well, she _knew._ No, it was worse than that — _Allura_ knew. _Shiro_ knew. He had the distinct impression that Hunk and Coran at least _suspected_.

 

Everybody in the damn Castle was aware that he had a … thing for Lance. Except Lance. Of course. And thank all deities for that, Keith would probably have to abandon ship and go live as a hermit on an uninhabited planet if the Blue Paladin ever found out (which was _so overdramatic, why_ was he thinking like this _, damn it,_ this was _Lance’s influence, that jackass_ ).

 

But Pidge? Pidge promising to _do something_ about it? That was just about the single most terrifying thing he had faced on this long, long journey with Voltron. He trusted Pidge with his life, and he couldn’t deny her infallible logic, but he’d gotten into the habit of denying, denying, and _oh yeah_ , _denying_ anything he felt for Lance.

 

It was tough to break the cycle of repression. Especially since he wasn’t convinced that Pidge was right about Lance feeling the same way.

Allura said something that Keith missed while wallowing in his thoughts, and he snapped back to where he was. In the training room. About to get a dance lesson. For a ball.

 

They were all wearing casual exercise clothes, but even as baggy as these outfits were, Keith’s eyes kept sliding over to Lance — to his arms and his legs, and each time he caught himself doing that, he had to restrain an angry growl and force his gaze back to Allura.

 

Which then backfired when she said, “Lance, would you like to demonstrate?” And then pointed to a spot next to her.

 

A part of Keith expected Lance to jump up, to leer or make a pass — but truthfully, Lance hadn’t hit on Allura in months, and Keith knew it. Even being aware of this fact, he felt pleasantly surprised when Lance shook his head, smiling in a soft, self-conscious way. “Ah, not really? Can you just teach us and we call it a day?”

 

Hunk raised a hand, his face flushing a little. “I second that emotion.”

 

“ _But if you feel like loving me, if you got the notion, I second that emotion!”_

Keith jumped along with everyone else, as an old Earth classic blared out, filling the room with unexpected noise.

 

“Sorry — you all have such eclectic collections of music on your devices.” Coran was standing off to one side, holding up his pocket computer. “I had the Castle download all the songs on your old Earth gadgets. Er, except yours, Pidge — couldn’t crack your firewall.”

 

“That’s right you couldn’t,” Pidge said, sounding both proud and relieved.

 

Keith felt the blood draining from his face — the amount of music on his phone that Lance could give him grief over was … a lot. Too much. “Could we not, uh, play mine? Also, sort of violating our privacy, Coran.”

 

“Yeah, seriously, not cool!” Hunk chimed in.

 

Lance, the _ass,_ just shrugged and said, “I’m good.”

 

Keith was well aware of the kind of crap Shiro listened to, which made him feel mildly better as the older man said, “If you can still respect me after listening to my collection of K-pop and seventies rock, I think we’ve bonded even further as a team.”

 

The princess straightened her posture, her stance rather like a ballet dancer’s. “The  _point_ of this is to find music you’re comfortable with and teaching you some basic steps. Now, the Celthrians and Alteans have some similar popular dances. Relatively easy.”

 

 _Easy._ Keith did not believe that for a second. He braced himself for embarrassment.

 

"Let's start with an old Altean orchestral beat!" Coran chirped. The music that came on afterwards was … strange, but oddly recognizable — Keith could hear a Celtic vibe, coupled with something somewhat country sounding? It wasn’t bad.

 

Allura demonstrated the first dance move, and Keith watched her closely, his arms crossed over his chest. She had extended her arms outwards, her hands at waist height. Her feet moved back and forth, fast and then slow, repetitive and actually not that difficult looking.

 

“That sort of looks like a cha-cha,” Shiro observed. “Do you need a partner?”

 

Allura kept dancing as she shook her head. “No, not really. Some dances can be done in pairs, of course, but I wanted to teach you the more basic ones first. And this move is the foundation of many of those.”

 

Keith didn’t budge as Hunk followed Allura’s example, executing the moves flawlessly. His brain was cataloguing the steps, noting how to move his feet and when, but he stood resolute, not willing to try unless asked to do so.

 

“Hunk, that is perfect!” Allura encouraged the Yellow Paladin. “Right, so if you wish to turn, you simply slide over like this and then resume your previous steps.”

 

Pidge stumbled when she attempted it, Hunk kept going without any trouble, and Shiro pulled it off too, though not nearly as well as Hunk. Lance started moving, slow and measured, but accurate, which immediately set Keith on edge. He could feel his humiliation coming any second now, and there was Allura, tossing him a smile and a nod.

 

Keith tried a few quick steps, surprised to find himself completing them easily, though he tripped a bit towards the end.

 

Coran had been floating about the room doing his own dancing, and he didn’t hesitate to praise them as they all tried to imitate Allura with varying degrees of success. “Excellent! Now, let’s try it with some Earth music!”

 

[A Caribbean-sounding tune played](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9HwpFdC6tE), the kind Keith associated with salsa or mambo, or whatever other dances involved _way too much_ hip movement.

 

The dread that surged up in him had _nothing_ to do with his own attempts to dance along with this … No, instead, his eyes immediately snapped to Lance.

 

Lance, who had brightened, his smile sweet and happy, his feet instantly nailing the steps along to the beat. As the singer’s low, raspy voice let loose with the Spanish lyrics, Lance switched from Allura’s steps to something that _definitely_ reminded Keith of salsa or mambo or rumba (how was he remembering all these different dances? Probably because his brain was running a mile a minute right now, trying _not_ to stare too blatantly except that _he so was_ ).

 

“Lance! That’s lovely — teach me!” Allura held out her hands and Lance took them, spinning her as he yanked her into his arms. They were both enjoying themselves, Allura laughing and Lance grinning broadly.

 

“I’m really not that good.” Lance was saying ( _You liar,_ Keith thought despairingly). “But my mom made sure I knew enough to not embarrass myself at weddings and quinceañeras.”

 

Allura had been watching Lance’s feet in order to better imitate him, and in no time at all, the pair of them were perfectly in sync, spinning in time to the music, their footwork on point. Pidge and Hunk were cheering. Coran smiled broadly and began his own solo version of the dance. Keith took his eyes off Lance for a moment to see Shiro looking equally happy and supportive.

 

 “So, this is like the one thing I can do,” Lance started to say, his steps slowing somewhat as he explained. Keith did not appreciate the slight flush to his features, he did _not_. “There’s, uh, supposed to be a little more  _hip_  to it, but I’m not —”

 

“Lance, show me!” Allura demanded, her voice filled with joy, and Keith’s heart stuttered in his chest. _Crap._

 

And Lance, because _of course, of course, he would,_ rose to the challenge, his grin taking on a sharper edge. “Okay, fine, you asked, princess!”

 

Keith would forever remember this as the moment when every single bit of shoved down, forgotten, denied and ignored piece of attraction for Lance burst into life and rendered him incapable of speech or movement.

 

He was barely able to think in a semi-coherent way. Mostly he just gawked, his mouth open, as Lance and Allura ate up the training room floor, their dancing wilder while still precise, the spins and the change in steps quicker yet still smooth, and Lance’s _hips …_

 

Keith knew, since his face was feeling distinctly warm, that he had a flush on his cheeks he could not deny. He could see Pidge staring at out of the corner of his eye. He had to force himself to not run from the room. This was so _not worth it_.

 

“You can absolutely dance!” Allura hugged Lance, and then held him out in front of her, somewhat out of breath and giggling. “Now, maybe you and Hunk can help me whip these others into shape, hmm?”

 

Keith saw Allura gave Pidge a wink before Lance was shoved unceremoniously into his face. “Right, you go with Keith! Pidge, you —”

 

Lance was smiling, the confidence toned down, not quite as … sultry as it had been just seconds ago. But Keith could not look Lance directly in the eyes — it was hard enough as it was to keep his mind from bad, _bad_ places. He forced his thoughts to other things, like flying with Red or eating Hunk’s delicious goop concoctions.

 

He missed whatever conversations took place about who was partnered with whom, and it wasn’t until Allura was requesting that Coran play more music that he logged back into his current, _painful_ reality.

 

“Coran, more music, please!”

 

“Right away! Earth music is so vibrant!”

 

The next song had Keith cringing, the loud beat and deep, throaty voice of the female singer immediately recognizable to him.

 

“Crap,” he groaned, wincing when all gazes snapped to him.

 

“Keith!” Lance sounded way too cheerful. “This is … What even  _is_  this?”

 

“It sounded cool! It’s a good exercise song!” Keith hurried to say, knowing he sounded defensive. “I don’t even know where I heard it, but I … am not going to be embarrassed.”

 

“Nah, it’s badass!” Lance was already moving to the beat, his damn hips taking up the rhythm and _great,_ Keith was never going to be able to listen to this song ever again without seeing _that_. His forced his gaze upwards with considerable effort — he heard smothered laughter from somewhere to his right, and he turned to glare at Hunk and Pidge. Pidge smiled at him, trying to look reassuring. Hunk was still laughing, albeit quietly.

 

“Not exactly conducive to the type of dance we’re going for, but I like this one too!” Coran swapped the song, and yet another salsa-sounding beat came on.

 

[“Ah, Santana — classic!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Whgn_iE5uc) Lance turned to look at Hunk and Pidge. “ _Dale,_ Hunk, I know you’ve got it in you!”

 

Hunk had been slowly guiding Pidge using Allura’s dance steps. “Uh,  _perdón, amigo,_ but my mom’s from  _Peru._ Totally different flavour of music. My hips don’t have the same elasticity, thank you ever so much.”

 

There went Keith’s eyes again.

 

“All right, team, let’s go! Coran, give Hunk and Pidge help, if needed.” Allura had been paired with Shiro, while Hunk and Pidge resumed their start-stop practise.

 

Lance reached out with both his hands, his fingers curling into a grabbing gesture. “All right, Red, let’s do this.”

 

Keith closed his mouth, his lips pressing firmly together, and his hands rose up haltingly. Lance took them swiftly, and when he pulled Keith in, he kept at least a foot of space between them, which Keith was pathetically grateful for.

 

“Right, I’ll let you lead.” Lance tugged on his hands. “So you when you take a step …”

 

While he looked at Lance’s feet, things were tolerable. He followed the Blue Paladin’s directions easily.

 

It might have been fun, once he got the hang of it, if Lance’s hands weren’t making his palms sweat, and if each time Lance praised him, he didn’t feel his cheeks heat up.

 

He had no idea for how long they were dancing (it had been maybe ten or so songs worth?), but Allura called a halt to teach them the actual pair dancing steps.

 

If Keith could have dug through the metal floor and pulled it up over his head, he would have right then.

 

“Same steps, but your hands rest about here on your partner to start.” Allura used Shiro as an example — one of her hands at the back of his neck, the other on the middle of his back.

 

Lance immediately moved into Keith’s personal space, his hands ghosting along the skin of Keith’s upper arms before sliding to his back. Without looking at Keith, he nodded towards Allura, confirming he had the correct position.

 

Keith’s brain had shut down temporarily.

 

“Got it — Keith, buddy, get with the program.” Lance still wasn’t looking his way, absorbed in whatever Allura was doing. Which was great, because Keith was having a hell of a time finding his calm — he was clenching his jaw, grinding his teeth as he shut his eyes. After a few seconds of even breathing, he managed to get what he hoped was a casually unconcerned expression on his face.

 

“This is the starting position, and then as you take steps, your hands will shift …”

 

Whatever Allura did was way too complicated for any of them. Keith was not even sure how her hands had moved.

 

Lance made a soft noise of confusion. “Uh, Allura, if it’s cool with you, I think I’ll just stick to what my mom taught me.”

 

Keith swallowed hard as Lance grasped his hands, placing one onto his shoulder. The other hand Lance clasped tightly in his own, holding it up just below shoulder-level; he started dancing, the steps slow and deliberate at first. Keith mirrored him, not once glancing down, but he kept his gaze focused somewhere past Lance’s right shoulder.

 

But even while not looking directly at him, Keith could see the Blue Paladin’s grin form — wide and giddy. The upbeat Altean song, while nothing like the Caribbean themes they’d been using, didn’t seem to hinder Lance in the slightest. When no teasing spilled from between Lance’s lips, and when Keith found himself able to follow along without stumbling at all, he felt himself start to relax …

 

Which was when Lance suddenly spun him out and then back in.

 

Keith ended up pressed back-to-chest with Lance. The line of heat along his spine, the way that Lance’s arm rested against his own chest … Everything narrowed down to the points where their bodies touched. Keith whipped his head around to glare at Lance, to try and assert some control … But Lance was smiling so broadly that his eyes were crinkling at the corners. Keith stared at that grin, and before he knew it, he was smiling back … until he felt all the eyes on them.

 

He realized the song was over, and he and Lance were just staring at each other for no reason.

 

Keith coughed loudly and stepped away.

 

Pidge’s glare was heating up the side of Keith’s face, but he didn’t dare face her full on.

  

“Right, we’ll learn a few more simple steps and then we'll take a break — I expect you all to be practicing as much as you can until the day of the ball!” Allura seemed happy to keep going, but there also appeared to be yet another pair of eyes intensely scrutinizing him, so Keith knew she was probably as annoyed as Pidge.

 

Lance shrugged off Keith’s strange behaviour and stepped in close yet again.

 

Keith prayed to anyone who could do something about this to please, _end this pain right now, holy crap, please._

_Castle of Lions_

_Date: 237 Days of Voltron_

_Sparring Practise, Training Deck_

 

_(The Torture of a Pining Red Paladin, Part Two)_

Keith knew that submitting himself to the usual sparring practise with Lance was an exercise in masochism, but his stupid hang-up, his stupid _crush,_ wasn’t any reason to skip out on actual valuable combat training — he hadn’t done that in months, and he wouldn’t start now. He pulled his hair back as he approached the training deck, ready for some good exercise.

 

Except that Lance wasn’t dressed in his usual gym shorts and faded blue t-shirt.

 

Keith walked into the training room to see Lance dressed in a pair of ragged, slightly too small sweat pants, shining dress shoes, and a loose white t-shirt because some all-powerful deity had heard Keith’s pleas and decided to focus all its malevolent powers on _smiting him out of existence_.

The Blue Paladin grinned and held up his pocket computer. “Hey dude, guess what we’re doing today?”

 

“ _Not_ sparring?” Keith croaked out. He cleared his throat and tried to appear indifferent.

 

“Nope! You need some work on those dance moves, and I’ve decided to get you into shape!” Lance seemed so gleeful that he had something he could teach Keith.

 

Even though Keith had fought Lance with vicious insults on a regular basis until recently, he found that outright rejection just wasn’t in him to give, even if it might spare him some serious pain.

 

“Right. Sparring after?”

 

“Maybe, depends on how quickly you improve.” Lance rolled his shoulders, that damn shirt almost falling off one with how loose it was and _why didn’t Lance have exercise clothes that fit, damn it._ Those sweatpants were erring on the side of _too_ fit.

 

“Okay,” Lance said loudly, tucking the computer away for now. “Before we get started, we are going to stretch and stuff, like we do for sparring, and then we’re going to get you working those hips because you are way too stiff, man.”

 

Keith almost broke into hysterical laughter. Almost. As it was, the hysteria was swallowed down, along with his tongue, as Lance bent low —  _the stupid shirt, what was the point if it fell off of shoulders, hiked up, slid away from his skin_ …

 

“Keith? You too tired for this or something? Wake up!”

 

He focused on Lance’s snapping fingers and immediately bent down, stretching with such intense concentration everything else fell away. Except, Lance, being Lance, was nattering about some of the song choices, that he remembered even more dance moves he’d learned back on Earth, and how he couldn’t wait to teach Keith every single one.

 

“You don’t have to make me as good as you, just … get me to not embarrass myself.” Keith stretched his leg muscles one more time before straightening up.

 

Lance was shaking his head when he looked over at him. “You've got this, you just need to practise.”

 

He clicked his heels. Keith glanced down at his feet. “So, what’s with the shoes?”

 

“I asked Allura to help me out with the Castle's clothes synthesizers. You should, too, by the way — learning to dance in the shoes you’re actually going to be wearing would be helpful. But we’ll make due for now.”

 

Lance clapped his hands together. “Okay. First thing! Show me what we learned a couple days back.”

 

Taking in a deep, fortifying breath, Keith slowly took a few steps, trying to remember what Allura and Lance had taught him. Lance nodded along, staring at his feet.

 

“Great! You’ve got the basics down pat, dude. See, I told you! Now, c’mere.”

 

Lance didn’t wait for Keith to head over there — instead, he was the one who moved in, arranging their limbs into the correct pair dancing position. Keith decided to just let himself be manipulated like a doll. He also decided to ignore the freshly showered smell that Lance gave off.

 

“Now — wait, hold on.” Lance dropped one of his hands to his pocket, whipping out the computer. He quickly pushed a couple of icons.

 

[A swift but steady salsa rhythm broke out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfI_LBdExIg), very similar to what they had listened to during that first dance lesson.

 

“I’m in a Santana kind of mood since last time,” Lance explained. He was smilingly brightly as he started moving to the beat _,_ and then he was twirling Keith with no warning.

 

Keith let it happen without thinking about it, his mouth parting on a, “ _Whoa._ ” Lance laughed, pulling him into the standard dance steps.

 

“A lot of this is about following cues. You’ll feel me press on your back like this” — Lance demonstrated with a subtle pressure on Keith’s spine — “and you can tell which way I’m gonna step. Like so.”

 

As they stepped back and forth, Lance gave another slight push, and Keith was following him to the right. They were taking up more space on the training room floor, dancing in a longer line that kept shifting as Lance directed Keith without saying much. He felt a slight pull from their joined hands too, which made it easier to keep up with him.

 

Ultimately, it did have some similarities to sparring — reading each other’s moves, anticipating what was going to happen next, letting instincts take control.

 

The spins kept happening, and when Lance pushed them further along the training deck, he suddenly pressed in closer as the song slowed down for a few beats, breathing out, _“Give it a whirl!”_

 

Keith somehow knew that he had to spin Lance — and the Blue Paladin twirled fluidly, but a notch too fast. He stumbled back into Keith’s arms, giggling. “Ah, man, that was awesome.”

 

They kept dancing until another musical build up. Lance grinned mischievously at Keith. “Go until you think you’re gonna throw up!”

 

Then he spun Keith again and _again_ , but this time they weren’t staying in place, instead gliding across the floor. Keith took up the challenge fiercely — it was ridiculous, and he tripped once or twice, but by the time the song’s sharp drums signified the end, Lance was laughing giddily, and clearly making up some off-beat final moves.

 

Keith was actually out of breath, which he did not expect, and he was grinning ear to ear, which he also definitely did not see coming.

 

But really, how long had he been crushing on Lance at this point? Five months. _Five entire months_.

 

His ability to repress, to ignore Lance for the sake of his own sanity and the sanctity of their mission … He had tried it for a long while. A strictly professional relationship, he’d told himself grimly. He had begun arguing viciously with Lance when they weren’t on mission or training/sparring.

 

Roughly a couple of months ago, he had started softening towards the Blue Paladin — still acting aloof, but also being unwilling to be apart from him. He _liked_ Lance as a friend, and they had _fun_ together, even when they were arguing, which was what made this all _so damn difficult._

Two weeks ago, Lance had apologized, claiming to not know or care what he had done, so they could _“get back to normal._ _Not normal before, when I hated you and your mullet. Normal after that, when we became buds. Sort of._ ” Keith had accepted that apology, because he couldn’t bring himself to tell Lance that it was entirely his own fault, and they had gone on as normal and … Now he was here.

 

This ball and these dance lessons were part of their mission as Paladins of Voltron. Keith could do this, he could deal, and he had been coping for this long, right?

 

Any suffering that came his way as a result, he probably deserved.

 

“I think you’re a natural!” Lance declared. “But your hips, man. You gotta loosen those up.” His hands dropped to Keith’s waist. “Can I help you out?”

 

Keith actually had no idea what that meant, but as he was already slowly dying, he figured there was no harm in speeding up the process.

 

He nodded. Lance’s hands fell lower, and he started chuckling to himself; he mumbled something that sounded like _shawty got low._ Keith was about to call him out on that terribleness — some stuff was _not okay_ to say while Lance was trying to get him to move in ways Keith was fairly certain his body could not. But then Lance was letting go to grab Keith’s hands and put them on _his_ hips.

 

“Um, I’m not sure I can explain this right, so here, just — like this.”

 

Lance swivelled his hips carefully, explaining to a momentarily brain-dead Keith, “There’s a bit of back and forth, but then you can try, at certain points, like when we split off, just after a spin or something” — his hips worked in a circular motion — “and it’s a bit tough to pull that one off. Pretend like you’re drawing a circle with one hip bone is how my big sister described it.”

 

There were words coming at him, and Keith understood them, but he was concentrating very hard on keeping his hands from squeezing reflexively, or his thumbs from stroking. As it was, his face was burning so hot he was worried Lance could feel it.

 

Lance resumed his hold on Keith’s hips. “Okay, give it a shot.” His hands pressed down a little, directing. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed, I’m not going to say anything, I swear.”

 

Keith tried. He did not succeed with nearly as much smoothness as Lance did, but he didn’t completely screw up either. But this was also while focusing very hard on the specific set of muscles he had to use — he wasn’t sure he could pull this off while dancing. Lance withdrew, making encouraging noises as Keith kept going without this help.

 

“Wanna go again?” Lance asked, holding up his pocket computer.

 

Keith shrugged, nodding with a nonchalance he definitely did not feel.

 

[Another song started playing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6omUxqhG78), and Keith had almost gotten used to the way Lance’s hand felt in his, the warm pressure of the other at his back.

 

However, then Lance had to make it _worse_ by _singing along._

“ _Esa mujer, me esta matando …”_ Lance was out of breath, but that just added to the multitude of variables that were driving Keith insane. “ _Me ha espinado el corazón.”_

This time Lance started them off moving across the floor, their feet eating up the space faster — the spins and the _extra_ hip movements were there, accompanied by Lance gesturing to the beat for Keith to imitate him.

 

He did, and Lance threw his head back to laugh, but Keith was smiling, even when Lance did the thing where he put his hands directly onto Keith’s hips to help him along.

 

When the inevitable slower bridge in the upbeat music happened, Keith closed his eyes as Lance dragged him in — touching from chest to thigh, and yet still dancing, hitting the steps nearly faultlessly. Keith took the initiative to give Lance a spin, which Lance was delighted by, and it allowed Keith the opportunity to suck in some much needed air.

 

The song faded out, and Lance started applauding, grinning proudly. “ _Dude._ You’re _good._ Like, when we get back to Earth, you are so coming home with me so we can show my dad. He’s going to wanna _challenge_ you for the sake of his honour — he used to _love_ watching professional ballroom dancing, but my dad has, like, _no rhythm whatsoever._ He’ll probably say I taught you all wrong, and it’ll be great to see him try and …”

 

Lance trailed off here, clearly battling a fresh wave of homesickness.

 

Keith couldn’t deal with that faintly pained expression on his face, so he was quick to say, “I thought you said your first priority was getting me to Varadero beach for ‘endless swimming fun times’.”

 

“Um, _yeah._ But we definitely have to make room for some salsa, toss in some rumba too, and I’m gonna feed you some _croquetas_ —”

 

“Yeah, stop there, you talk about food, and I’m going to get hungry for more Earth stuff we can’t have.” Keith had been craving hamburgers for _so long._ Too long. “Let’s go over the steps a bit more.”

 

He hadn’t died yet, after all. Lance’s previously sad countenance had lightened, and he was gazing over at Keith fondly.

 

Pidge had said Lance felt the same — that she had known about Keith’s feelings partially because of Lance’s behaviour. He wondered if this was one of those moments … But no, he wasn’t sure, couldn’t be sure, and he wasn’t going to risk everything on an assumption.

 

“All right, man, let’s go. We’re gonna be the talk of this ball! We shall bring glory and honour to Voltron with _la rumba_!”

 

Keith ducked his head to hide a soft smile and let Lance sweep him into his arms once more.

 

_Castle of Lions_

_Date: 244 Days of Voltron_

_Day Before the Ball, Training Deck_

 

_(The Torture of a Pining Red Paladin, Part Three)_

“What is it, Keith?” Shiro paused between fighting simulations, not allowing Keith to move on to the next program.

 

Keith sighed, sheathing his bayard. “Can we not talk about it? Battle sims are better. Less mess involved.”

 

“Less mess involved in mindless combat — yeah, I get that.” Shiro crossed his arms. “But you know, when your head isn’t in the game, you’re a lot more likely to get messed up. So, how about we deal with that? Is this about Lance?”

 

Was he ever going to get used to people just throwing his feelings back at him like that? Keith groaned, rubbing his face. “Shiro, no. I mean, yes, but _no,_ can we please _not_?”

 

Shiro said nothing, standing there, waiting.

 

Keith made a frustrated noise. “Okay. So. You’re all so sure that Lance is … Whatever, point being, what happens if _this_ does happen?” He spat out the last few words, hardly allowing himself to consider them even as he spoke.

 

“Well, you and Lance would be happy, I assume,” Shiro replied, raising an eyebrow. “Or is that not what you think?”

 

“What about _the mission,_ Shiro? What about defeating the Galra, getting back to Earth, finding Pidge’s family —” _My family, whoever the hell they are._ Keith couldn’t bring himself to say that one out loud.

 

“You can be happy _and_ do all those things. This doesn’t have to conflict with any of those.” Shiro sighed, tapping his chin as he thought. “What, exactly, is keeping you from telling Lance, aside from your concerns that he doesn’t feel the same way?”

 

“That it could compromise our mission to save the universe,” Keith said promptly.

 

“Keith, do you have feelings for Lance, right now?” Shiro retorted.

 

He stared, hating the fact that his cheeks seemed to be perpetually pink nowadays. “Um, yes? Is this a trick question?”

 

“Are those feelings keeping you from doing your job? I would say that our highly successful diplomatic exercises beg to differ. And a couple of small battles we’ve had since … I don’t remember any big mistakes.” Shiro shrugged. “You would still have those feelings, whether or not you’re officially in a relationship with Lance, and you’ve been functioning just fine … Except for when your stubbornness, your unwillingness to _confront_ those same feelings erupts. _Then_ you have a problem. If anything, being in a relationship with Lance, or at least telling him how you feel, would resolve that much. What else?”

 

Keith was gaping at Shiro. What he was saying _made sense,_ but somehow Keith’s brain was not computing. _Things would get better_ with _Lance? Really?_

 

“But, what about … being emotionally compromised?” Keith breathed out slowly. “In battle and —”

 

“Keith,” Shiro interrupted him harshly. “If Lance was in danger, and you could save him, would you?”

 

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

 

“What if I ordered you not to?”

 

“… Yes,” he said again, with a touch of apologetic hesitation.

 

“What if _he_ told you not to?”

 

“As if that would stop me.” Keith snorted.

 

“And if the mission depended on you _not_ saving him? If other lives were hanging in the balance?”

 

Keith paused for a long time, his mind imagining a million scenarios, all of them horrifying. His pragmatism had been eroded a bit these last few months — if he was forced to suggest leaving Allura behind again, or _anyone_ on the team, it would hurt like hell, but he might be able to put forth the idea. However, actually executing it? “I … I don’t know.”

 

“Fair answer, and also, honest. You’re already emotionally compromised, kid. It’s not something that just magically starts or stops when you get into a relationship.” Shiro smiled sadly. “And it applies to all of us. I actually don’t know the answer to that last one myself. If you were in danger, or Pidge, or Lance, or Hunk, and I knew that … Well. Point being, it’s normal and it’s pretty inescapable.”

 

“What if he isn’t into dudes?” Keith burst out, not even realizing he’d said it until his own words rang in his ears. His entire face went red, and he tried valiantly not to bury his head in his hands. He knew he was grasping at straws by this point.

 

Shiro stared at him in surprise and then burst out laughing. “Sorry, just, the lack of segue … Um, I think you’re good on that front. Lance seems to be an equal opportunity person.”

 

“But he’s only ever flirted with girls —” Which Keith knew wasn't solid proof at all, but he was desperately trying to justify his position.

 

“Yes, but he’s not been opposed to men flirting with him, or did you miss that whole thing between Lance and Fre-Lised back on Gyroq?”

 

Keith scowled because _yes, he did remember, had tried to block it out since he had embarrassed himself horribly, thanks._ Shiro grinned knowingly.

 

At that moment, Allura walked in, a few mice in tow. She pointed at both of them. “You! You two need to try on your outfits for tomorrow to make sure they fit! We don’t have time for drastic changes, so please, get a move on!”

 

She sounded excited, and her smile broadened when she saw Keith’s blushing face. “Sorry, am I interrupting? Are you discussing … something personal, perhaps? Oh, I don’t wish to intrude, but if I can help …”

 

“Yes, it’s about Lance, geez, can we please stop doing this now?” Keith gave in and covered his face with one hand. “Shiro, I think I’m done for today. It’s lunchtime, right? Let’s go eat, _please_.”

 

Shiro was laughing. Allura muttered something too quiet for Keith to hear, but by the time he uncovered his face, Shiro was gone, and it was just the Red Paladin, the Princess, and the Castle mice.

 

“Keith, I wanted to tell you something in regards to you and Lance. I promise that I won’t be suggesting how you handle the situation or opining on your feelings.” Allura smiled kindly at him.

 

He nodded haltingly in return.

 

“All I want to say is that … Well, back on Mir, I’m not sure if you remember, but I suggested to Imperator Fr’ellin that bonded pairs were not ideal amongst Paladins, as they could be potentially distracting …”

 

Keith frowned and quietly said, “I know, Princess, that’s sort of —”

 

“And I’m telling you that it’s a load of _klanmuirl_ dung.” Her smile widened when Keith jerked backwards, but she soon took on a more serious expression. “Keith, to block out feeling is to deny a part of yourself, and if you’re doing that, you’re not able to fully connect with your Lion, and in turn, you jeopardize being able to form Voltron.”

 

“But you can’t deny that there might be problems —”

 

“Of course, but you are a consummate soldier. Lance is … Lance, and he’ll be as such with or without you,” she said, rather affectionately. “I trust that you _both_ will be able to prioritize missions when you must, and pay special attention to keeping any personal problems off the battlefield — particularly when it’s of gravest importance … Though I’m sure your banter won’t be halted for minor skirmishes, as you’ve shown already.”

 

Nothing that Allura said (that Shiro had talked about earlier) was a lie, or said just to comfort Keith — they wouldn’t treat him like child, had never talked down to him. If ( _since_ ) it was all true, then it followed that if Lance did want something, if somehow that _actually happened_ … It wouldn’t mean putting everything they worked for at risk.

 

No, the only risk was himself. And it was on him to take that chance or not.

 

“Thanks, Allura.” He smiled at her, and she put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

 

“Well, in that case, let’s get you properly fitted! I’m so glad you took my suggestions for your suit!” She was grinning _too_ widely and playfully, but Keith chose not wonder why.

 

Instead, he focused on gathering up some courage and mental resolve.

 

As soon as he was done ensuring that all his clothes fit for the ball tomorrow, he sought out Lance in the kitchen. The Blue Paladin was finishing off his lunch alone, and he glanced up at Keith, waving while he chewed on a mouthful of food.

 

“Hey, do you have time for one last dance practise today?” Keith held up his shoes. “I want to give it a go with these on, make sure I’m not gonna trip over my own feet.”

 

Lance swallowed loudly. "Sure, just gimmie, like, ten minutes to get this down and get changed?”

 

“Right, meet you on the training deck.” Keith retreated quickly, proud of himself for neither stuttering nor blushing.

 

When Lance arrived, Keith was wearing his new shoes (which fit perfectly and would likely give him zero trouble), and Lance was wearing his own dress shoes with a pair of track pants and yet another ill-fitting shirt — this one was far too tight. Months of training and fighting were showing, clear as day, which was making things, once again, a bit _difficult_ for Keith.

 

“Just lemme get some music cued up.” Lance pulled out his computer, scrolling through his selection. “I gotta say, it’s pretty cool of you to let me do this.”

 

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, genuinely confused. There was a note to Lance’s voice he couldn’t quite parse. “You’re helping _me_ out.”

 

“Maybe a bit, but you’re in no danger of messing up that badly anymore. Except for your inability to give a good body roll,” Lance said with a wink. “But, you gotta know how much fun this is for me, and I know you’re not as into it … So, yeah. Thanks for letting me have fun, I guess.”

 

“I’m … actually having fun, too,” Keith confessed awkwardly, watching Lance carefully for his reaction. “It’s not just that I need your help. Dancing is … pretty cool.”

 

“Yeah?” Lance’s smile was slow to grow, but it was also one of the brightest Keith had ever seen. “Okay then. Um, I just ate, so let’s kick this off with a slightly slower tune.”

 

[The powerful vocals had Keith jumping in place.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcrPF6vD_Y4) Lance laughed a little as he stepped into Keith’s personal space yet again.

 

The song had English and Spanish intermingled within the lyrics. Once more, Lance couldn’t seem to resist singing along to the Spanish — with extra dramatic flair this time.

 

Keith ignored how the English words stabbed at him and concentrated on keeping time. It was easier with Lance leading the way — Keith didn’t think he could guide Lance readily yet. He was fine with letting the Blue Paladin be in charge of this particular battlefield.

 

As the music wore on, Lance moved in close enough to have his head resting against Keith’s.

 

And Keith was trying to get his mouth to cooperate — to say _something,_ to ask if it were even remotely possible that they could …

 

“ _Estás perdiendo el tiempo, pensando, pensando,_ ” Lance sang lowly, right into his ear — Keith lost whatever he was going to say.

 

They danced until the song faded into silence. Lance leaned back, holding Keith at arm’s length. “Those shoes aren’t doing anything to hold you back. I think you’re good.”

 

“But —”

 

“But,” Lance agreed, grinning, “maybe we should try something a little different? No guarantee we’ll get to dance to some awesome Caribbean beats all the time. So, I’ve got something here I took off Shiro’s playlist. I have to admit, our leader’s taste in music isn’t half-bad …”

 

Keith shrugged. “Sure, let’s do it.”

 

“This time, let’s go big! Full improvisation, chewing up the whole dance floor, spins and stuff — whatever happens, happens!” Lance’s excitement was contagious.

 

Keith felt an opportunity arise … and he let it pass. Again.

 

“All right, but if I end up flat on my face, I’m taking you down with me.” Keith moved first this time, his hands falling exactly where they should by reflex. He waited for Lance to play the music so he could grip his other hand.

 

“Right, we’ve both got this!” Lance crowed.

 

[This time, the song kicked off](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhOJGrtC1PY) with words Keith actually recognized even though they weren’t in English.

 

His Korean was pretty limited — his father’s family had moved to the southern United States before his dad had been born, and so English had been his dad's primary language, Korean only spoken with his parents. Keith’s father had tried to teach some of the language to his son before … Point being, Keith’s Korean had never been great to start, and now it had been slowly chipped away by the passage of time and lack of use.

 

But even so, his ears were burning when he gleaned the meaning of a few lines.

 

Lance was cheerily oblivious, doing exactly what he’d said they would do — guiding Keith through a rapid, all-expansive dance that took them all around the training deck, incorporating spins and fast switches … And at one point Lance actually _lifted_ Keith a bit off the ground, a boisterous laugh escaping at Keith’s widened eyes.

 

They stumbled a few times, but it was otherwise amazing — and Keith didn’t try to hold back the smile when a sudden stop in the music had Lance posing dramatically with a hand over his eyes. He even managed to keep grinning when Lance resumed their fast-paced dance by tugging Keith in for a quick lesson in body rolls.

 

As the song neared its last chorus, Lance called out, “ _New move!”_ He promptly spun Keith in and _dipped him._

 

They ended like that, Keith in Lance’s arms, laughing while Lance grinned his most charming grin down at him.

 

And Keith couldn’t say anything.

 

Because all the worries about affecting the team, threatening Voltron’s mission, being a distraction for himself and for the others … They had been reasoned out of him by Shiro and Allura.

 

Now all that was left was a simple, paralyzing fear that Lance just _wouldn’t want him._

“More?” Lance asked, smiling sweetly. Friendly? _Affectionately?_

 

“I don’t think … so,” Keith said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “We should spar a bit. We haven’t done that in the last few days. And … then dinner?”

 

Lance nodded, looking faintly disappointed, but he was cheerful again in no time at all. “Okay, but I need you to promise me that you’ll bust out those moves again tomorrow. And that you’ll at least _try_ to give your hips a solid roll or two.”

 

Keith’s cheeks were flushing again, and he hated everything about his body’s involuntary reactions. About his inability to get his act together and _say something._

 

“Sure. If I mess up, I’ll just blame it on my teacher,” Keith said with a light shove to Lance’s shoulder.

 

“No one will believe _that_ when they see _my_ moves,” Lance refuted smugly.

 

He wasn’t wrong. Keith let Lance have the last word because he may or may not be planning on thoroughly demolishing him during their spar.

 

If tomorrow ended up being horribly humiliating, then Keith intended to spend at least this one night with Lance without any awkwardness or tension.

 

And if tomorrow ended up being everything Pidge promised it would be … Then Keith would look back on this night as the last time this stupid fear kept him quiet — the last time it prevented him from telling this idiot, this ridiculous, talented, stupidly attractive sharpshooting jackass, that Keith might be just a little bit in love with him.

 

******

  _“They are doing a rumba to_ Hot Blooded _,” Hunk said in a flat tone of voice. “Pidge, I take it back. This was a mistake. A horrible mistake.”_

_Lance was laughing so hard that he was almost missing his steps — almost. Keith was actually keeping them in time, and_ he _was the one who yanked Lance in close until there was no space for even light to get through._

_And Lance, Lance went so red that Pidge was both surprised and elated to see him actually embarrassed, for once. Though that didn’t stop him from deploying his hip maneuverers. Now Keith was blushing, but he didn’t stop. Neither of them stopped. Lance started belting out the words, in a deliberately off-key voice, while Keith just laughed right along with him._

_— Objects in Motion, Chapter 5_

******

**Author's Note:**

> Songs in order of appearance:
> 
>  
> 
> [Oye Como Va, by Celia Cruz.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9HwpFdC6tE)
> 
>  
> 
> [Trouble by Valerie Broussard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_HefhZfWN4) (They didn’t dance to this — it was the song Keith was embarrassed by ;D)
> 
>  
> 
> [Smooth by Santana Ft. Rob Thomas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Whgn_iE5uc)
> 
>  
> 
> [Oye Como Va by Santana](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfI_LBdExIg)
> 
>  
> 
> [Corazón Espinado by Santana Ft. Mana](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6omUxqhG78)
> 
>  
> 
> [Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps by Lila Downs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcrPF6vD_Y4)
> 
>  
> 
> [Blood, Sweat, and Tears by BTS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmE9f-TEutc) (This is the original music video — the video I linked in the story was a lyric one, since the original MV has a long intro and another lengthy break partway through the song — which I love, by the way, just not for dancing purposes :D)
> 
> Once again, Keith’s angst was challenging to write, and once again, I’m really not one hundred percent satisfied, but I think I’ve done all I can to fix it. *throws hands in the air* Keith, you stubborn yet delightful jerk … *sighs*
> 
> Many thanks to anybody that reads this — if you want to hang out on [Tumblr](http://thisgirlhastales.tumblr.com/), I’m there :)


End file.
